The Federal Prison System and the Tucson Penitentiary

The Federal Prison System and the Tucson Penitentiary

by Danny Fabricant

About 30-some years ago, there were maybe 40 federal prisons in the whole country. Some were Camps known as “Club Fed.” They had about 30,000 involuntary Guests.

Back then, most of the Guests were bank robbers, Mafia members, kidnappers, spies, embezzlers, counterfeiters, international drug smugglers/dealers, Illinois politicians, people who took stolen cars across state lines, stole mail, had silencers or machine guns and other stuff, that everyone understood to be “Federal crimes.”

The 2013 budget for the Federal Bureau of Prisons is around $7 billion. There are currently over 200 federal prisons, holding about 220,000 Guests. More than half of the Guests are serving ridiculously long sentences (often Life w/o parole) for drug crimes; mostly involving two ounces or less of crack or methamphetamine. Some are serving 5-10 year sentences for selling one or two “rocks” of crack.

Equally ridiculous are about 500 Guests serving long sentences for “felon in possession of ammunition.” This is often one old .22 bullet, found in the trunk of a car that’s had 8 owners in the preceding 20 years that they were driving, or in the bottom drawer of an old toolbox inherited from their Grandfather. The penalty is the same as if they’d actually had a gun. Even worse, if the person had two priors that were drug crimes or crimes of violence, a 15 year Mandatory Minimum kicks in. For one tiny bullet.

The 200 federal prisons include about 15 penitentiaries (Pens). Most of the Pens built in the last 15 or so years are all the same design, with twelve, 128 bed housing Units and a Special housing Unit (SHU, or “the Hole”) that holds about 250. The rest are Federal Correctional Institutions (FCIs), Detention Centers, Camps or privately run prisons.

Not counted in the 220,000 are 50,000+ pre-trial federal prisoners, who are housed in county jails and federal & privately run “detention centers,” all over the country, by the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Additionally, many thousands of Guests arrested by Immigration (ICE) are held in ICE detention centers, county jails and private immigration detention centers, nationwide.

As will be explained below, two of the Pens, Tucson and one of the twin Pens in Coleman, Florida (hereafter Coleman) are “special.” This was written in the “special” Tucson Pen.

Less than half of the 220,000 federal prisoners are “normal” criminals. There are many other categories, such as:

RATS

More than a third of the people arrested for federal crimes cooperate with law enforcement, soon after their arrests – sometimes starting before the second handcuff is clicked on. They’re called (“cooperating”) Rats. The federal Gov’t very rarely lets Rats go free as a reward for their cooperation, unless their cooperating (and testimony) causes a whole bunch of people to get arrested and convicted.

Most cooperating Rats only get a year or so knocked off of what they would have gotten, if they hadn’t become Rats. Some get nothing off (Gee, what a tragedy).

Certain Guests of jails and prisons get into the habit of informing on other Guests’ behavior. They’re also Rats.

SEX OFFENDERS

At least weekly, every newspaper in the country has at an article(s) about local perverts being sentenced to long terms in federal prison for having Kiddy Porn on their computers, failing/refusing to Register as Sex Offenders, or other assorted federal Sex Crimes, usually involving children.

Every month of so, the News reports some federal sting operation were 100+ perverts are arrested, either in one area or nationwide. Nearly all of them are held without bail, and soon either plead guilty or are convicted. Those without prior sex related convictions usually get sentences between 5 and 20 years. They are sent to one of the 15 or so FCIs that are set up with Sex Offender programs. These “programs” are very costly. In that they were dreamed up, and run by, the federal Gov’t, it’s a safe bet their eventual “success rate” will be in the single digits.

The ones who get huge sentences (because their current crime or prior convictions were really horrendous), get sent to Pens. Many of the Sex Offenders actually look like what you’d expect a really creepy pervert to look like. Some get a bunch of tattoos, to try to look like a “normal” Guest, but, like lipstick on a pig, it doesn’t fool anyone.

The Tucson Library has to take the multi-page, Target & K-Mart (etc.) color ads out of the Sunday papers, to keep the perverts from stealing them. Some of them would cut out the pictures of children, and glue or tape them up in their cells. (How could I make this up?)

Some of the perverts are completely unrepentant – often bragging and joking about the numbers, and ages, of children they’ve had sex with. Many of the perverts “pick up bibles” as soon as they get arrested. Walking by the Chapel you can often see bunches of them seated, with one at the podium, speaking to the others: “…and Jesus has forgiven me for having sex with my children. (polite applause) And when I get out, He’s gonna help me get them back!” (And the crowd went wild.)

HOMOSEXUALS

White, Hispanic and Native American Homosexuals eventually get run off of the yards in normal Pens – it they “race-mix” they get beat up and/or stabbed, and immediately run off. After a year or so in a SHU, they (since 2008) end up in Tucson or Coleman. More than half of the Blacks at Tucson regularly have sex with various Homos, but they don’t consider themselves to be Homos – Yeah, right.

Some of the Homos are otherwise normal Gay guys. Others are flamboyant – like what you would expect t see riding on a Float at a San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. Some try to look like women. Some act like really stupid 13 year old girls. **{And then there’s the prisoners.}

Tucson has at least 100 “married couples,” happily celling together and copulating one another on a daily basis. Many of the Homos appear happy to be here – they have all the men they can eat. There’s at least one prostitute in nearly every housing Unit. A few of the prostitutes regularly sneak into other Units, plying their trade. Early morning cops constantly find the “married” ones in one bunk, while conducting counts. They just shrug their shoulders and continue counting. Rookie cops are funny the first time they catch two of them. Lots of yelling & calling for “help” on the walkie talkie.

There are also predatory Homos, who (I guess) like “the thrill of the chase.” In that many of them are serving life sentences (or several hundred years), and can’t be sent anywhere else except Coleman, there is really no way they can be effectively punished/stopped. Put them in the SHU and they often rape the other guy in the cell. The retarded Guests are often targets.

CHECK-INS

Check-Ins (known in state prisons as PCs) are Guests who have been put into protective custody, normally at their own request. This can be because they either burned, angered, or decided to drop out of, a prison gang. In most cases, they befriended other Guests and borrowed money from all of them, or gambled and/or bought drugs on credit (often all 3) & then “Checked-In.” These scumbags have usually done this at several other Pens and finally end up at Tucson, or Coleman, and then they do it again.

THE MENTALLY ILL

At least 100 of the Guests at Tucson are seriously mentally ill or retarded. Some are the people you’d see walking around downtown, in major cities, talking to themselves. Some look like 10 generations of in-breeding. They are usually given strong psych medicines, once or twice a day. This causes a lot of them to harmlessly stay asleep in their cells, most of the day.

The violently mentally ill will eventually be put in the SHU, with a “Psych Hold,” but only after they’ve assaulted other Guests, or employees, multiple times.

Some will continuously make feeble attempts at suicide, so they get to take an ambulance ride to a local hospital and stay there for a couple of days. Swallowing razor blades is a popular method. The violent and suicidal ones eventually get sent to a psychiatric prison.

All the Sex Offenders are supposed to regularly see a Psychiatrist, either monthly or quarterly. Inasmuch as they have to do this, many take advantage of the situation by faking symptoms that get them the psych pills. Guests who have been getting the psych pills for years gladly explain what symptoms the others should describe to the Psychiatrists, to get pills of their own.

Why? There’s a huge business in selling the psych pills. It’s not too difficult to only pretend to swallow the pill(s) they hand you, through a little window. There are many customers waiting to buy them. Occasionally, a large, violent, mental defective will either save up, or buy, 5 or 10 days worth, wash them down with half a gallon of homemade wine, and go on a rampage.

The retarded Guests are often preyed upon by others, either sexually or by those who get them to give or sell them their pills, often way below the going rate.

WHITE GUYS WHO WANT TO BE BLACK

This category needs no further explanation.

SCUMBAGS FRESH FROM COURT

Before mid-2008, Sex Offenders and Rats would just be sent to any Pen, and go to the yard upon their arrival. Often on their first day, they’d be badly beaten and/or stabbed multiple times. After medical treatment, sometimes at an outside hospital, they’re put in the SHU, in protective custody status.

Normally, nothing happens to the guys who beat them up/stabbed them, as prison officials have no love for Sex Offenders, Rats, Check-Ins, etc. All federal prisons have electronic law libraries, where new Guests’ names are easily run. The system often locates details about their prosecutions and appeals. If nothing comes up, and they have no Court paperwork with them, information about them is accessible by any prison employee, on the staff-only terminals in every housing unit’s office and job site. New sex offenders/rats, etc. who “slip through” initial inquiries are soon outed, by employees.

Guys beaten up/stabbed used to be held (in PC status), in the SHU for about a year and then they’d be sent to another Pen. By the time they’d get sent to another Pen, there’ll always be somebody there from the last Pen, who will recognize them. The process then starts over. Many of them would (wisely) refuse to go the Yard at the next Pen, spend another year in a SHU, and then get sent to yet another Pen.

Eventually, the SHUs in every Pen had 50-110+ long-term PCs, waiting to be sent to other Pens. In about 2008, the Bureau of Prisons decided to turn Tucson and Coleman into “safe havens.” Starting mid-2008, Tucson and Coleman became the places to send High Security Sex Offenders, Rats, out-front/flamboyant homosexuals, former cops and prosecutors, Check-Ins, White guys who want to be Black, and similar Guests who can’t be in a “normal” Pen. Cooperating Rats and Sex Offenders with huge sentences are now sent right to Tucson or Coleman, from Court.

With typical Government efficiency, Tucson (and probably Coleman) still have a few “normal” Guests, who have to endure being surrounded by scumbags. Some of the remaining “normal” Guests were here before the scumbags started being shipped in, and simply weren’t transferred out. Between mid-2008 and 2/3 of the way through 2009, 500+ of the normal Guests in Tucson were sent to other Pens, to make room for the scum. But, they stopped shipping “normal” Guests out, about September, 2009.

Normal Guests who have major medical problems are still regularly sent to Tucson, because it’s rated “Care Level III” (whatever that means). Only a few Pens are “Level III.” There’s probably 100 Guests with wheelchairs, walkers or canes. Others were sent here because they’re dying of various ailments, but they’re not bad enough (yet) to be sent to the Butner, North Carolina Medical Facility, usually to die. Many of the “Level IIIs” are also scum, but some are completely normal.

In mid-2010 & early-2011, two “Level III” Florida Outlaws were sent to Tucson. In mid-2012, one was sent to Butner. In late 2012, the larger one was finally transferred out, after two years of constantly beating up Pedophiles. For unknown reasons, some “normal” guys from Arizona still get sent to Tucson, right from Court.

The in-prison Rats (many of whom are also Sex Offenders) occupy their time telling on everything that goes on in Tucson. The email system allows Rats to instantly tell on stuff – no having to wait for notes dropped into the unit mailboxes to get routed somewhere the next day. They get no rewards for this. They just do it as revenge or hoping it builds them up “points” somewhere.

A few Rats even send emails telling on the employees, sometimes for not searching the required five cells per shift. The employees are usually given copies of the Rat’s email(s). The employee told on then goes and searches the Rat’s cell – very often finding contraband that gets the Rat thrown in the SHU for several months (awwwww).

Nearly all the White guys in Tucson are Sex Offenders (usually pedophiles), Rats, Homosexuals, Check-Ins, or all of the above. Nearly all of the Blacks are cooperating (and in-prison) Rats, Check-Ins or rapists (sometimes everything.) Nearly all the Natives are either Sex Offenders, Rats, Check-Ins, Homos or are from Arizona, and just got sent here from Court. The Hispanics are pretty much gang dropouts or illegal border crossers w/long sentences. Some are also Sex Offenders. There’s less than a half-dozen Asians in the whole place.

Tucson has most of the features/activities the other Pens have, with appropriate differences. There are bands, who play on the yard, on some holidays. This becomes Dances. On Valentines Day, they have a Dance in the Gym. One of the “normal” guys at Tucson (who shall remain nameless) wrote and re-wrote (a la Weird Al Yankovich) a few songs, making fun of the pedophiles. He passed copies around to some of the other “normal” guys. One of them gave copies to guys in the bands. These songs now get sung at the Dances.

USP-TUCSON VERSION of Freddy Cannon’s “PALISADES PARK”

Last night I took a walk after dark,
A swingin’ place called Pedophile Park,
To have some fun and see what I could touch,
That’s where the kids are.
I took a ride on a shoot-the chute,
Cub Scout I sat beside was awful cute,
And when we stopped, he was holding hands with me.
My heart was flying, up, like a rocket ship,
Down, like a roller coaster,
Back, like a loop-de-loop,
And around, like a merry-go-round.
We kissed and hugged and it felt real grand,
We danced around, to a cool Boy Band,
And when I could, I pulled that boy’s pants down,
In the Tunnel of Love.
You’ll never know how great a child can feel,
When you stop at the top of a ferris wheel,
When I fell in love, down at Pedophile Park.
I saw a priest with an Altar Boy,
Who said his robe hid a special toy,
They took a ride, and the Boy sat on his lap,
Through the Tunnel of Love.
You’ll never know how great a child can feel,
When you stop at the top of a ferris wheel,
When I fell in love, down at Pedophile Park.
I met a girl at the Barbie Doll stand,
Bought her some candy and I held her hand,
We rode a ride, and I held her close to me,
In the Tunnel of Love.
You’ll never know how great a child can feel,
When you stop at the top of a ferris wheel,
When I fell in love, down at Pedophile Park.
You know it’s Pedophile Park.
Down at Pedophile Park….

USP-TUCSON VERSION of Sam Cooke’s “ONLY SIXTEEN”

He-ee was almost 13, almost 13,
And I loved him so-o-o,
But he was too young, to fall in love,
And I had just joined NAM-BLA;
We’d laugh and we’d sing, and do the funny things,
that made our hearts glow-ow-ow,
But he was too young, to fall in love,
and I had just joined NAM-BLA;
Why did I give my heart so fast,
Oh, it will never happen again,
‘Cause I was a mere lad of 35,
and I’ve served twelve years since then;
‘Cause he-ee, was almost 13, almost 13,
and I loved him so-o-o, but he was too young,
to fall in Love, and I had just joined NAM-BLA;
Yeah, he was too young, to fall in love,
and I’ve served twelve years since then……

A CHILD MOLESTER RAP SONG

I’m a Child Molester, I think I’m real Cool,
Every day I hang out by, the Elementary School;
I’m a Child Molester, Don’t know why all the Fuss,
Just tried to get my old job back, driving the School Bus;
I’m a Child Molester, I think life’s just Dandy,
Look here comes a Little Girl, now where’d I put that Candy?
I’m a Child Molester, in Mud Puddles I go Stampin’,
Can’t wait till next Summer & I take the Cub Scouts Campin’;
I’m a Child Molester, some Folks think I’m Sick,
cause when I see a Little Boy, I want to suck his D**k;
I’m a Child Molester, now I’m a Big Bad Con,
Skipping down the Hallways, at U.S.P. Tucson.
(© 2011, Danny Fabricant)

What the Hell am I doing here? Tucson opened up in early 2007, as a completely “normal” Pen. I was in the Victorville Pen then. They put up Notices saying, “Anyone who wants to go to the new Tucson Pen, see your counselor.” All the guys who were from Arizona and New Mexico signed up, but none of them were sent here. Instead, they picked guys who hadn’t had a write-up in at least a year, and once a week, at about 4:00 AM, woke up groups of about 40 (a full bus) and told them to “Pack up your stuff, you’re going to Tucson, NOW.” I was on the second of about ten buses.

A few months after I was here, my convictions were reversed. In December, 2007, I was flown back to Los Angeles for Trial II. In January, 2010, I was returned to Tucson. (You always go back where you left from when you go “out to court.”) It had changed to “Pedophile Park.” I asked to be sent back to Victorville. I was told, “You missed the last train out – you’re stuck here.”

What had happened was, in late summer 2009, after about 500 or so “normal” Guests were sent to the other pens, to make room for the incoming scum, the transfers out slowed way down. By about September 2009, any White guy sent to another Pen was attacked, usually the first day, for not leaving with the larger crowds. So they stopped sending White guys to any “normal” Pen.

When I came back here, in January 2010, it was too late to leave. Of course, I could have demanded to leave, and sat in the SHU for 6 months to a year. But, with the appeal of my convictions (and life sentences) needing to be started, that was hardly a viable option. So I’ve spent 3 years in Pedophile Park. There’s only four guys I’ll speak to, in my 128 bed housing Unit. I believe maybe 25 White guys (mostly Care Level IIIs and 2007 leftovers) in the whole of Tucson are “normal,” and I’m being generous. At least I’m usually by myself in the cell, about 10-11 months of the year; unless they fill the place with new scum. As soon as a bed opens up in the unit, he’s moved into it.

It’s a lovely place – your Federal Tax Dollars at work.